Recent posts

#1

FPGA / Re: toolchain for GateMateA1-E...

Last post by LubOlimex - Today at 08:21:39 AM

We have no experience with it. Only used the OSS CAD Suite.

#2

FPGA / toolchain for GateMateA1-EVB

Last post by mastupristi - January 04, 2026, 06:12:38 PM

Hello,
The document ug1002 "Toolchain Installation User Guide" is listed on your website.

Inside I find:

Following the directions, however, I find this:
https://colognechip.com/programmable-logic/gatemate/toolchain/

It seems that document ug1002 describes the legacy toolchain called cc-toolchain-linux.tar.gz,
but as you can see on the page, the most recent toolchain is oss-cad-suite-linux.

However, I cannot find any usable examples in this new toolchain.

I found some examples (perhaps) that could be useful here: https://github.com/YosysHQ/prjpeppercorn-test-cases

What do you think about using the new toolchain?
Do you have any quick guides on this? Or even just suggestions?

regards
Max

#3

FPGA / Re: Questions about GateMateA1...

Last post by mastupristi - January 04, 2026, 05:40:57 PM

Hi,

QuoteNo idea. Some bit file was provided by Cologne community if I remember correct. The software usage is detailed here: https://github.com/OLIMEX/GateMateA1-EVB/blob/main/SOFTWARE/ug1002-toolchain-install-latest.pdf

I found this: https://youtu.be/lMUQplZXPoM?si=BMzlcv0eBE_oDg0y
Where they referred to the 'blink' example.
It is present in the toolchain, but it needs to be edited to change the pin definition, which is set to CCGM1A1-E1 by default.
I searched on GitHub and found a couple of repositories that contain the blink example with the pin definition for Olimex:

I hope this helps others.

regards

#4

Neo6502 / Re: Creating ARCADE games for ...

Last post by Maarten van Druten - December 24, 2025, 06:02:09 PM

While trying to build the game I found out problems,

The makefile uses ca65 (cc65 assembler) but the source code was written in 64tass syntax!
So I am fixing this now and will upload the right files on github soon

#5

Neo6502 / Re: Creating ARCADE games for ...

Last post by Maarten van Druten - December 23, 2025, 08:31:26 AM

I posted my files on GitHub:
https://github.com/MishaOpenArcadeSystem/Gaudens-Machina-EX

Who can help me to accomplish following goals:
1 - Make this game work on Olimex NEO6502
2 - If the game works create a manual how to configure the Olimex NEO6502
so it boots automatically into the game when turned on

#6

Neo6502 / Re: Creating ARCADE games for ...

Last post by Maarten van Druten - December 23, 2025, 08:05:19 AM

The "Gaudens Machina Ex" is the most complete game

COMPLETE "GAUDENS MACHINA EX" ARCADE GAME FEATURES:

✅ 8 Full Zones with unique gimmicks and aesthetics
✅ 9 Sin Archon Bosses with multi-phase battles
✅ 32 Achievements with cute badge graphics
✅ 10 Weapons in the Temptation Arsenal
✅ Deep House Music Engine with 6 channels
✅ Sensual Particle System with heart/ribbon effects
✅ Battery Save System with 3 slots
✅ Cheat Codes & Easter Eggs
✅ Endless Mode with procedural generation
✅ True Ending with multiple requirements
✅ Enhanced UI with ecstasy meter and badges
✅ Mirror World gimmick mechanics
✅ Heartbeat Rhythm gameplay
✅ Weapon Evolution system
✅ Replay System with compression

Total Size: ~48KB (6 banks of 8KB each)
Estimated Development Time: 3-6 months for a skilled 65C02 developer
This complete system pushes the Neo6502 to its absolute limits while delivering a deep, sensual, and rewarding shoot 'em up experience that stays true to both arcade roots and modern design sensibilities! 🎮✨

Game structure:

/gaudens-machina-ex/
├── main.asm # Main game loop
├── gaudensex.inc # Enhanced constants
├── vga_ex.asm # Advanced VGA driver
├── player_ex.asm # Enhanced player system
├── enemies_ex.asm # Adult-themed enemies
├── bosses_ex.asm # Sin Archon bosses
├── achievements.asm # Achievement system
├── music_ex.asm # Deep house music engine
├── particles_ex.asm # Sensual particle system
├── weapons_ex.asm # Temptation arsenal
├── levels_ex.asm # 8-zone level data
├── ui_ex.asm # Enhanced UI with badges
├── save.asm # Battery save system
├── secrets.asm # Cheat codes & easter eggs
└── Makefile

Goals I would like accomplish:

- Bring new life in the Open Arcade scene by sharing code, games
encourage other game makers to make real 8bit Arcade games!
- When the Arcade games are finished, I would like to make real wooden Arcade cabinets
(like Barcade) for each game, and share building plans, etc.
- Boost sales and popularity for Olimex :-)

#7

Neo6502 / Creating ARCADE games for NEO6...

Last post by Maarten van Druten - December 22, 2025, 08:52:44 PM

Hi my name is Maarten, with the help of Deepseek I created two arcade games for the NEO5602 that will push this hardware to the max.
One is horizontal shoot 'm up called "Gaudens Machina EX"
The other a vertical shoot 'm up called "Candy Monsters XXX"
both games have huge sprites, big end bosses, sound and even easter eggs

I have 90-100% of the assembly code ready, but I am a game art director, graphic artist not a programmer, I am looking for a person who can combine these assembly codes into a working game, who want to join me to release these two arcade games for the Olimex NEO6502 under the GPL3 license?

MONSTER_CANDY_XXX/
├── BUILD/ # Build outputs
│ ├── bin/ # Binary files
│ ├── obj/ # Object files
│ └── wav/ # Cassette audio files
├── SOURCE/ # Assembly source code
│ ├── CORE/ # Core game engine
│ │ ├── main.asm # Main game loop
│ │ ├── state_machine.asm # Game states
│ │ ├── memory.asm # Memory management
│ │ └── interrupts.asm # IRQ/NMI handlers
│ ├── GFX/ # Graphics engine
│ │ ├── vga.asm # VGA driver
│ │ ├── sprites.asm # Sprite engine
│ │ ├── background.asm # Parallax system
│ │ ├── fonts.asm # Font rendering
│ │ └── palette.asm # Color management
│ ├── GAMEPLAY/ # Game systems
│ │ ├── player.asm # Player control
│ │ ├── weapons.asm # Candy weapons
│ │ ├── monsters.asm # Monster AI
│ │ ├── boss.asm # Gummy bear boss
│ │ ├── collision.asm # Hit detection
│ │ └── particles.asm # Particle effects
│ ├── AUDIO/ # Sound system
│ │ ├── psg.asm # PSG driver
│ │ ├── music.asm # Music engine
│ │ ├── sfx.asm # Sound effects
│ │ └── tracker.asm # Music tracker
│ ├── UI/ # User interface
│ │ ├── title.asm # Title screen
│ │ ├── menu.asm # Menu system
│ │ ├── hud.asm # In-game HUD
│ │ └── text.asm # Text rendering
│ ├── DATA/ # Game data
│ │ ├── waves.inc # Level definitions
│ │ ├── monsters.inc # Monster stats
│ │ ├── weapons.inc # Weapon data
│ │ └── music_data.inc # Music patterns
│ └── ASSETS/ # Binary assets
│ ├── graphics.bin # Compiled sprites
│ ├── music.bin # Music data
│ └── samples.bin # Audio samples
├── CONFIG/ # Configuration files
│ ├── neo6502.cfg # Linker configuration
│ ├── memory_map.inc # Memory mapping
│ └── hardware.inc # Hardware definitions
├── TOOLS/ # Development tools
│ ├── bin2wav.py # Binary to WAV converter
│ ├── png2sprite.py # PNG to sprite converter
│ ├── mod2psg.py # Mod to PSG converter
│ └── packer.py # Asset packer
├── DOCS/ # Documentation
│ ├── memory_map.txt # Complete memory map
│ ├── api_reference.txt # Function reference
│ └── hardware_spec.txt # Hardware details
└── Makefile # Main build script

#8

UEXT / Re: MOD-IRDA faulty ?

Last post by SirExie - December 20, 2025, 10:24:31 PM

Hi Folks,

Final post to wrap this thread up - its done, all working!

I soldered in the 20ohm resistor and saw the uplift in current, but still couldn't get the range. I used a laser pointer to align it with the target, but still no joy.

In the end I swapped out the LED with one:
https://download.altronics.com.au/files/datasheets_Z0880A.pdf

It's a larger 5mm one, but it fit on the board fine and it has a narrower viewport at 20 degrees, and a much higher radiant intensity. This did the trick and now it works perfectly, I appreciate I'm at the max 100mA that it supports, but as it is pulsed, nothing gets warm on the board so I think its going to be ok.

Thanks for putting up with my questions and vandalising your hardware. I should say thanks for making great kits and been open about sharing the schematics, without that I probably never would have tried this in the first place.

#9

UEXT / Re: MOD-IRDA faulty ?

Last post by SirExie - December 18, 2025, 01:33:24 PM

Thanks LubOlimex, I ordered some of these SuSuMu ones which came in 1/3W:
https://www.susumu.co.jp/common/pdf/n_catalog_partition08_en.pdf

They should arrive tomorrow and I'll have a go swapping it out.

#10

A20 / Re: A20 Board Power Consumptio...

Last post by plantedpig - December 17, 2025, 11:22:07 AM

On the A20 OLinuXino, idle power consumption with no peripherals connected is usually in the few hundred milliwatts range, depending on the OS and kernel configuration. True deep sleep support on the A20 is pretty limited, so most setups rely on aggressive idle tuning rather than full suspend. You can reduce power usage by lowering the CPU frequency and voltage (using cpufreq with the powersave governor), disabling unused interfaces in the device tree, turning off HDMI, Ethernet, and USB when not needed, and unloading unnecessary kernel modules. With some tuning, you can get idle consumption down noticeably, but it won't be ultra-low like an MCU-based system. deer adventure